Price on shutting down Crosby, Malkin: We can ask them to stay at the hotel

Carey Price knows he's going to have his hands full when the Montreal Canadiens take on the Penguins in the qualifying round, and joked about what his team will need to do to stop some of Pittsburgh's biggest stars.

"We can ask them nicely to stay at the hotel for the games," Price said on how to shut down Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Penguins' lethal power play, per TSN. "Or we can work as a group and take their time and space away."

The Penguins' power play wasn't as good this season as it's been in years past. While it only clicked at a 19.9% rate - which was good for 16th in the league - the unit did have to deal with injuries throughout the campaign.

Over the past three years, Pittsburgh's power play ranks third in the league with a 23.8% success rate. With the team fully rested and ready to go, Montreal may have its hands full while on the penalty kill.

Price acknowledged that the Canadiens are clearly the underdogs in the series, but he still believes they have a chance to win.

"At the end of the day we're going to win and lose as a team, it's always been like that," Price said. "I can sway the odds obviously with outstanding play but at the end of the day we're all going to need to play over our heads to win."

The Canadiens will take on the Penguins in the best-of-five qualifying play-in round on Aug. 1. Montreal finished the season with the 24th-best record in the league while the Penguins finished seventh.